Railway-crossover.



PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

G; w. WRIGHTSON. RAILWAY caossovsn.

APPLIOATION FILED 1320.17, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wz'inas'ses.

No. 891,390. PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908. GL W. WRIGHTSON.

RAILWAY GROSSOVER.

APPLICATION FILED 13150.17, 1907.

\ 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Q m In 92202.

w H 2 m 1 No. 891,390. 7 PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908. .G- W. WRIGHTSON.

RAILWAY GROSSOVER.

APYLIOATION FILED DE0.17 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Ina/6223272.

wfiu ssesf I M No. 891,390.- PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

G. W. WRIGHTSON.

RAILWAY CROSSOVER.

APPLIOATION FILED DEO.17, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

fss$ 50 I I 2/672707.

.tion;

GEORGE W; WRIGHTSQN, OF EAST SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

BAILWAY-CBOSSOVER.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1908.

Application filed December r1, 1907. Serial Nb. 406,382.

ave invented new and useful Improvements 1n Railway-Crossovers, of whichthe following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings,

is a full, clear, and exact descrip- This invention relates to certainimprove -ments in railway cross overs and refers more particularlyv tothe construction and approaches of the frog and also to the mechansm forsecuring the associate rails and guard rails in position. In this classof devices considerable difficulty is experienced in keeping the variousparts of the cross over in permanent position and repair thereby-notonly involving considerable expense in maintaming this part of therailway system in perfect and safe wearing order but alsoincreasing theliability of accident particularly in switch yards and other localitieswhere these cross overs are numerous and over which the employees andother pedestrians necessarily travel. These disadvantages are usuallydue to the creeping of the ties and superposed portions of the crossover resting thereon, and also to the fact that heretofore the fishplates and other arts of the cross over for securing the ra' s inposition have been joined together by bolts and nuts which it is wellknown'soon work loose and unless they are frequently inspected andtightened allow the rails to become displaced thereby causing excessivewear upon the rolling stock and rails and also frequent disasters atthese points.

M mam object is to obviate the use of the usua bolts and nuts insecuring the rails of' the'system in place by sup orting the rails atthe crossover upon suita le bed plates and locking the rails thereto byseparate lock bars or retainers heldnto the bed by automaticallyclenching keys so that the bed plate ma cover and be secured to a seriesof ties w lo the lock bars or retainers for each rail section may beseparately removed or re laced without disturbing the correspon ng lockbars for the other-rails.

. Anotherobject is to enable the rails of the fro and associated guardrails to be easily an quiekly installed and to secure them insuch'manner that the pressure of the flanges of the wheels will operateto more firmly secure and hold the locking members and rails heldthereby in place.

corrugations adapted to lock with'pl'ojections on the u per face of thebed plate whereby such rai sections and the bed plates will becomeinterlocked against relative endwise movement.

Other objects and uses will be brough out in the following description.

'In the drawin s-Figure 1 is a top plan of a ortion of a rai way crossover showing the r0 and guard rails. Figs. 2-, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 an 9 aresectional views taken respectively on lines 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 6-6,7-7, 8-8 and 9-9, Fi 1. Fig. 10 is a top plan of one of the detached bedlates for supporting the meeting ed 'es of t e rail sections inproximity to one o the guard rails, portions of said bed plate beinbroken away to show the tapering ways. ig. 11 is a sectional view takenon line 11-1 1 Fig 10 showing the meeting ends of the rails resting uponthe bed plate. Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively top plan and sectionalviews similar to Figs. 10 and 11 showing a modified form of bed plate inwhich only one sliding block is used.

igs. 14 to 22 inclusive are perspective views of different parts of thefrog, Fig. 14 showing the bed plate; Fig. 15 one of the rail sections";Fig. '16 one of the outer lock bars; Fig.17 one of the longer lock bars;Fig. 18 one of the shorter inner lock bars; Fig. 19 one of the frogpoint rail sections; Fig. 20 one of the lock bars in front of the frogpoint; Fi 21 a fish plate, and Fig. 22 one of the rai locks for the tie.

In order to demonstrate the practicability A still further object is toprovide for a i lockin sections 8 and 9-.

of m invention I have shown the portion of a ra' way cross overincluding the frog and associated guard rail to ether with one of thefish plates and a series of tieplates for the rails operating the guardrail and fro The frog comprises essentially. a meta '0. bed plate 1,opposite rail sections 2;.

and 2.', additional rail oint sections 3- and 3', outer lock ars orretainers 4- and 4' for the rail sections 2.- and 2, additionalintervening lock bars 5, '6Jand -.7-- for the rail sections 2 and 2" andpoint bed plate relatlvel to each other.

By looking the ed plates in the manner just described to a series ofties, it is obvious that by embedding such ties in the road-bed the arecaused to cover a large surface area WhlOh reduces to a minimum theliability of shifting or creeping of the frog and parts resting thereonendwise. This bed plate -1- is rovided near its outer longitudinal.edges wit opposite lengthwise flanges 12- preferably ormed integraltherewith and rising fI0Il1 'itS top face and having their inneradjacent sides formed with le thwise grooves -13- opening toward eacother substantiallycoineident with the top face of. the bed plate 1- forreceiving correspond v ing ribs or flanges on the locking members orretainers 4- presently described, said flanges diverging om theintermediate portion of the ed" plate toward the opposite ends thereof,to conform to the angle. at which one track intersects the other at thecross over.

In practice, I preferably-allow the opposite longitudinal edges of thebed plate to extend some distance,laterall beyond the flanges and thesemarginal e ges are pro vided at'intervals with apertures for receiving.additional fastening members as spikes 14 which are driven therethroughinto .the underlyin ties to more securely lock the bed plate an tiesagainst relative movement so that in effect the ties become a portion ofthe bed plate covering a large area of ground and thereby reducim thehabilit of the endwise creeping or s ing of the' 0g to a minimum.

The rail sections 2 and 2 are.

spaced a art in the usual manner and diverge in o poslte directionstoward their ends from an intermediate point corresponding to the sidesof t divergence ofthe flanges 12 and to the angle at which one trackcrosses the other,

said rails being of standard form exce t that the under' sides of theirheads: are ormed with "lengthwise grooves --15- at opposite e webs, theouter rooves receiving corresponding ribson the fockin members orretainers +4 and --4 whi e the inner grooves are adapted to receivesimilar ribs on the locking members -5, 6 and 7 hereinafter described,the lower faces of said rail sections .2- and 2 being preferablycorrugated transversely at '16 to intermesh with one or morecorresponding corru ations 17 on the upper face of the bed pate wherebythe rail sections -'-2-- and 2- are locked'to the bed plate againstendwise movement thereupon. These rail sections'2 and 2''. referablminate short of the ends of t e bedp ate to afford ample su port for thepoint sections 3 at one en and similar support for the ter- I ends ofthe main rails as a at the opposite end of the bed plate.

The corrugations 17' are located directly under and interlock .with theends of the rail sections 2 and 2 near their meeting ends with the mainrails a, and j are, therefore,v locked with the bed plate at one endonly, leaving the remaimng OI'tlODS to expand and contract longitudinathe top face of said bed plate. The fmain rails 'a are of standardy uponlengthand, therefore,their'"de cc of expansion and contraction is consierable and in,

order that they may have a limited expansion and contraction movement onthe bed plate, the portions of the rails u which overlap thereupon are00 sliding blocks -20- which are mova la in longitudinally elongatedrecesses 21 in the u per side of s a1d plate, said recesses being 0 osedat their ends to limit the movement of the sliding blocks -2 0.

The locking bars 4 and 4-- as best seen in Figs.- 5 to'8 inclusive servealso as spacing bars to hold the rail sections 2 and 2- a fixed distancefrom their corresponding flanges 12 and are provided at t eir innerupper edges with ribs 22- interlocking wit the outer grooves 15 in theunder side of the head of the rail sections 2- and 2 and their outeredges are formed with lengthwise ribs 23 which interfit in the grooves-13.of the flanges 'site sides of t hold the keys firmly in operative(position 391,390 g a 'i B which-the prongs or tines of the bifurcatedkeys are driven and whereby such prongs are. spread arikart or clenchedagainst oppoe openings in the ed plate to against accidental withdrawalor ment. driven downwardly from the top and that while their upper endsare exposed it is clear that any downward pressure which is brought tobear u i on them will tend to further clench them an thereby moreeffectively lock the splaceretainer bars 4 and -4 in their adjustedpositions to prevent outward displacement or separation of the railsections 2 and -2. These rail sections are locked a ainst lateral inwardmovement toward eac other by the locking plates 5-,

--6 and 7 which are arranged end to metal wedges meeting edge to edgesubstantially midway between the railsections '2 and 2- and are providedat their outer edges with ribs 27- Fig. 4 which fit in the inner groovesin the under sides of the heads of the rail sections 2- and 2- and havetheir under sides resting upon the base flanges of said rail sections soas to substantially fill the intervening space below the heads of therails and are held in place by keys 24 which are like those describedand are passed through recesses in the meeting faces thereofand alsothrough a ertures in the bed plate where their lower bi urcated ends areclenched or spread by wedge-shaped cross bars 26- similar to thosereviously described, it being understood t at all of these keys areprovided with heads which are somewhat larger than the apertures orrecesses through which they pass so that when their lower ends areclenched by the cross bar 26, their upper ends or heads are engaged bythe top face of the locking members to retain the atter in theiradjusted positions.

The locking members or retainer bars 4- and. 5 extend some distancebeyond the meeting ends of the fail sections 2 and 2' and their corresending rails a thereby serving the double purpose of fish plates to holdsaid meeting ends of the rails in alinement with each other without theuse of bolts and at the same time allowing the meeting ends of the railsa' to move a slight distance longitudinally relatively thereto underexpansion and contraction to which they are susceptible, the retainerbars -4 and 4 serving to hold the rails from spreading while the wedge-It is obvious that these keys are ature changes.

sha ed locking members or retainers 5- per orm a similar function inholding the v rails a fixed distance apart.

The bed plate -1, rail sections -2 and 2- and 3 and 3 together with thelocking members or retainer bars -4, 5, -e-, -7, s and 9 constitute whatmay be termed a railway frog, the rail point sections 3 and '3 restingupon and extending forwardly from the heel of the bed late so that theirconverging ends merge etween the rearwardly diverging portions of therail sections 2 and -2 and are held in place by the locking members 6,7, -8 and 9.

The locking members 6- are formed in two parts, each locked between theone side of the point-of the frog and adjacent rail sections '2 and arelocked in place by keys 24 which are similar to and are held in place insubstantially the same manner as that described for the previouslydescribed keys, that is they are passed through registering apertures intheir res ective lockcross bars 26v similar to those previouslydescribed. These locking bars 6- substantially fill the spaces betweenthe rail points 3 and 3 and rails 2 and 2 and their forward ends extendsome distance beyond the point of the rail sections 3 and 3 where theypreferably abut against the heel ends of the wedge-shaped lockingmembers 5 leaving suflicient clearance for slight expansion'undertemper- In like manner, the locking members 7 are interposed between therail point sections 3 and 3- and rail sections -2 and -2+ substantiallyfilling the intervening space and are held in place by bifurcated keys24, the latter passing through registered openings in the lockingmembers 7. and underlying por- 110 tion of the bed plate wherethey areclenched by wedge-shaped cross bars 26 similar to those previouslydescribed.

The locking members -+8 are somewhat similar in construction to thelocking mem- 15 bers 4- and 4 and are interlocked with fixed flanges 35-on the bed plate -1 and are also interlocked with grooves in the underside of the heads of the rail sections 3 and 3 and are held in place bykeys -24 which are like those described and are interlocked with the bed-8 are formed with lengthwise flanges enterin the grooves in the flanges35 while t e inner upper edges of said locking members *S- are alsoformed with lengthwise ribs or flanges which interlock withcorresponding grooves in the under side of the heldinpositlonbykeys24-ofsubstantially the same construction as the others previously described,said locking members 9 having their outer upper edges formed withlengthwise ribs which interfit in the correspondin grooves in the underside of the heads '0 the rail oints 3' and 3' while their lower acesbear upon the base flan es of said rail sections.

T e upper faces of the front ortions of the locking members -9 are sustantially coincident with the top faces of the rail sections 2 and 2 soas to form additional bearings for the rim of the wheels in passing overthe point while the uplpersur aces of the remaining portions or eels ofthese locking members 9' are slightly depressed below-the top face ofthe rail sections -3' and -3 to receive the keys 24 where the latter areprotected more or less from contact with the rim of the wheels of thecars in assing over the rails.

In assem ling the parts of this frog, the

base plate --1 is first secured to the ties- -10- by means ofthefastening members as spikes 11- and 14,-the latter being driven throughapertures in the plate into the ties while the spikes 1 1 are preferablydriven into the ties and engaged with the outer lon itudinal edges ofthe plate.

When t e late is firmly secured in place in the manner ust described,the locking members 4 and 4 are interlocked with the outer faces oftheir respective rail sections -2 and 2 and are then rested upon the bedand moved laterally and outwardlyuntil their flanges -23enter theirrespective grooves 13 in the flanges -'12 with which they now becomeinterlocked, in

V V which position thekey openings of the locking members 4 and 4'- areregistered in the corresponding opening in the base late whereupon theke s 24 are driven om the top downwar ly through'said registering oenings and their prongs or tines are sprea or clenched against the underside of the bed plate by the wedge-shaped bars 26, the latter beingpreferabl integral with the metal bed late. After t 's operation iscompleted, tfie wedge sha ed locking members 5 are inter ocke with thegrooves on the under side of the adjacent face of the rails 2-, 2-. andare driven inwardly or toward the point of the frog until their meetingfaces are brought intoclose contact as shown in Fig. 1 in which positionthe key openings formed by the recesses in the adjacent faces of thelocking members 7 meeting ends of the rai s ainto alinement with thoseof the rail sections -2' and 2'- of the frog and together with the outerlockin members 4- and -4- firmly hold the rails against lateraldisplacementand in fixed relation to eachother and at the same timepermits the adjacent ends of the rails a to moveslightly endwise byexpansion and contraction due to thermal changes, it being understoodthat the ends of the rails a which rest upon the plate are interlockedwith the sliding plates .20- which permits such endwise movement and itis also to be understood that the adjacent ends of the rail sections .2and 2-- are similarly interlocked with the fixed corrugations 17 on saidplate to lock said rail sections 2 and 2 to the bed plate againstrelative movement.

' Whenthe rail sections 2 and .2-.

mately so whereupon the key openings 1n the 1 locking members 6 arebrought into registration with the corresponding key open- .ings in thebed plate and the keys -24 are then driven from the top downwardly untilclenched by the underlying wedge bars in the bed plate. bers 7' areinterlocked with the ooves in the under sides of the heads vof t irrespective rail sections 2 and -2 and are secured in place by the keys-24- in substantially the same manner as that described for the otherkeys 24.

It will thus be seen that the locking members 4-, 5, 6' and 7 and keys24, serve to firmly lock the rail sections 2-- and -2-- against lateraldisplacement and in fixed relation to each other.

-The locking members 8 are thus intereir respective rail sections 2 Inlike manner the locking mem-' fbasefianges at the outer longitudinaledges of t erein'being brought intoregistration with those in. the bedlate whereupon the keys lying wedge 24. are driven ownwardlyuntilclenched by .the underlying wedge bars in said bed.

ate. P The rail point sections are now o'sitioned with their outer edgessubstantia y parallel with anda slight distance from the inner divergingedges of the rail sections 2- and 2'- fter which the wedge-shapedlocking members 9 areslidably interlocked with the grooves in the undersides of the heads of therail sections 3 and 3 and are driven toward thepoint until their meeting'faces come into close contact and their ke oenings are brought into registratlie underlying openings in the bedplate after which thekeys are driven down- I wardly into lace andclenched by the underbars 26 thereby firmly locking the rail points 3-and 3' against inward displacement or rather holding said rail points afixed distance apart and against the inner faces of the locking members8 The rail point sections 3. and 3 are allowed to extend some distancebeyond the heel of the frog or bed late 1 and in as much as their loweraces are corrua gated,- I provide corrugated tie plates 50 Fig. 22 whichare spikedto the adjacent ties some distance beyond the adjacent end ofthe bed plate so as to add additional resistance to the creeping orendwise movement of the frog. These corrugated plates have theircorrugations'meshing with those on the 7 under side of the rail points3- and 3' and are usually driven laterallybetween the rails and ties andare provided with raised shoulders 51 forming stops to limit the inwardmovement of the plates when driven into osition, said plates beingpreferably provi ed with spike openings for the re- 1(pareption ofspikes -'11 as best seen in in the installation of these cross overs,the outer rail as 55- of one of the cross over tracks is usuallyprovided with a guard rail 56- associated with the frog' to cause theflange of the wheel. to travel in the proper channels in passing. oversaid frog and have shown this guard rail as mounted upon a bed plate 5'7 which is secured to a series of ties by spikes 1 1 and is providedwith lengthwise flanges 59- similar to the flanges 12 for receivinglooking members or'retainer bars '60.. of similar cross section to thebars 4 and 4 the heads of the ard rail 56 as well as the rail 55- eingprovided with grooves on their under sides for the reception oflengthwise flanges on the locking members 60', said with the locking Theguard rail -5e is locked at themside of and a. slight distance from themain rail 55- and is additionally held in place by interposed lockingmembers -63 and 64 corresponding respectively to the locking members -6and 7 said locking members 63- and 64, being secured in place bybifurcated keys 24, which are similar to the other keys 24 and areclenched in place in substantially the same manner.

The rail 5 5- is preferably divided transversely substantially midwaybetween the ends of the plate 57- and the locking members 60 and 63-serve to keep the meeting ends of the rail sections in alinement andalso to hold them down upon the bed plate.

One or both of the meeting ends of the rail sections 55 where they restupon the bed plate may be corrugated to engage similar corrugations uponsaid bed late in substantially the same manner as escribed for the.

rail sections -a and -2 although one of the meeting ends of the rail 55may rest upon a sliding corrugated block similar to the corrugatedsliding block 20.

In order to further show the a plication of my invention, that is, thebed p ate, locking members and keys for securing the meeting ends of therail to the ties I have. shown in Fig. 1 a bed plate which underlies themeeting ends of the rails 55 and is secured to the ties 10 by spikes 71said bed plate 70 being fprovided with lengthwise parallel grooved anges-72 running along its opposite longitudinal edges for receiving theouter longitudinal edges of the locking members or retainers by means ofsaid bed plate to the tie withbolts or nuts thus. permitting the railsto slide endwise limited distances by expansion and contraction underthermal changes.

It will be seen from the foregoing description thatall the partsentering into the installation of the frog, guard rail and fish membersbeing held in place by keys 24- similar'to the other keys -24' wh le thebed plate is provided; with wedge-shaped bars extending across theirkeyopenings to s read or clench the lower bifurcated ends of plate may bequickly and economically assembled or removed and if one sart shouldthis part of the rai becomeimpaired it may be read y replaced and stillpermit the use of the other arts which are not impaired thereby enablingWay system to be easily and economically maintained in a safe Wearingcondition thus reducing'the liability to accidents to a minimum. Anotherim ortant advantage is that the locking members between the rails,especially at the oint of the fro avoids to a large extent the abilityof em oyees and other edestrians etting their eet wedged or caug 'tbetween t e rails by reason of the fact that in all instances theseintervening locking members .are brought up at least to a lanecoincident to the underside of the hea s of the rails while the pointsof the locking members 9 where the danger is greatest are actuallybrought up to a plane coincident with the top faces of the rails. Themain object of the invention as previously stated is to maintain thefrog in sections so that the rails may be secured in place Without theuse of bolts or nuts while all of the sections ma be readily installedor either of them quic y and easily replaced when impaired.

What I claim is:

1. In a railway, a bed plate having opposite fixed flanges, a railhaving a grooved head, flanged retainer bars between the rail .,andflanges and interlocked therewith, and

-ties, a lengthwise ange rigid with the late,

a rail I'GStlDgUPOIl and interlocked wit the bed plate against endwisemovement, a retainer bar between and interlocked with the bed plate andflange, and keys passed throu h the retainer bar and bed plate.

3. n a railway, a plurality of ties, a metallic bed plate restingupon'and secured to the ties, a lengthwise flange rigid with the late,

a rail resting upon and interlocked wit the bed plate against endwisemovement, a retainer bar between and interlocked with the bed plate andflange, a furcated key passed throughvthe retainer bar and bed late, andmeans for spreading the tines, o the key when. enterin the bed plate.

4. In a rai way, a metallic bed plate, rails having their meeting endsresting on said bed plate, and an auxiliary plate interlocked with oneof the rails and slidable on said bed plate, I

as the latter rail expands and contracts.

.5. In a railway, a plurality of ties, and a metallic bed plate restingupon the ties and.

secured thereto, opposed fixed flanges on the plate, retainer barsbetween and interlocked with the rails and flanges, separate wedge'blocksbetween and interlocked with the rails, and keys passed throu hthe retainer bars and blocks and into the ed plate.

6. In a railway, a plurality of ties, and a metallic bed plate restingupon the ties and' 7. In a railway, a metallic bed plate and a railresting thereon, said plate and rail having interlocking shoulders ontheir contiguous faces, an additional rail partially resting on the bedplate and a slidable interlocking connection between the last named railand bed plate to allow for the expansion and contractlon-of theconnected parts relatively to each other.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day ofNovember,'1907.

GEORGE W. WRIGHTSON. Witnesses:

H. E. CHAsE, CAROLINE M. MCCORMACK.

